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Music, Songs and Stories: Archival Selections from India > Historical Recordings from the 1930s of Arnold Bake Vol. II: Everyday Songs

Music, Songs and Stories: Archival Selections from India

- CD2
- Historical Recordings from the 1930s of Arnold Bake Vol. II: Everyday Songs
- The recordings by Dutch ethnomusicologist Arnold Adrian Bake in India in the 1930s and later are one of the earliest examples of what may be called “ethnographic” recordings. Arnold Bake and his wife Corrie spent a long time in Bengal but travelled all over India, recording the music, sounds, and other forms of intangible culture of the people. These recordings cover an immense range of music and recitations that are part of people’s everyday lives, such as work songs, devotional pieces, and ritualistic performances, and include a high number of women’s songs and cultural expressions. Bake’s first field trip was in 1925 and his last in 1955. During that time, he travelled not only to India but also to Nepal and Sri Lanka. Collections of Bake’s recordings are held in archives in the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States. Recordings from 1925 to 1929 were

on cylinders, and those from 1938 to 1939 were recorded on a machine called Tefifon. The collection that has been digitized for this project consists of the recordings made in 1938 and 1939. The Tefi recordings were transferred to spools and deposited in ARCE in 1982. During those two years, Bake travelled from Sindh, the Gujarat coast, to Kerala, and thus the recordings are from Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Kerala. There are also recordings made in the Maldives and Sri Lanka. Thus, the selections presented on these albums are largely from the Southwest Coast of India. These recordings were chosen because they carry great historical value yet were not easily accessible until now. NB: The titles given by Arnold Bake have been retained. However, in the notes, places and names have been changed to reflect current designations – e.g. Canarese was changed to Kannada . Place names have also been modified to follow current spelling conventions.
Everyday Songs - The everyday lives of people are what make up the core of intangible cultural heritage (ICH). This selection includes rituals, work songs, devotional and religious songs, as well as common songs that express joys and sorrows. In addition to songs, some tracks include cries and noises, reflecting the wide variety of sounds that Bake recorded.

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SOUND LIST
1	Snake charmer’s tune Date of Recording: 16th February 1938 Place of recording: Madurai, Tamil Nadu	01'36"
2	Kanarese song Performer: Madhumalati Dhopeswarkar and Sneha Dhopeshwarkar Date of Recording: 11th October 1938 Place of recording: Belgaum, Karnataka Language: Kannada	02'55"
3	Pregnancy song Performer: women from Wadagaum Date of Recording: 11th October 1938	02'40"
4	Welcome song – Raghuvansa Sutha Performer: Vishalakshi Date of Recording: 18th February 1938 Place of recording: Madurai, Tamil Nadu Language: Tamil	01'40"
5	Kanarese Wedding song Date of Recording: 11th October 1938 Place of recording: Belgaum, Karnataka Language: Kannada	01'36"
6	Wedding song Performer: Women of Kanbargi Date of Recording: 11th October 1938 Language: Kannada	01'09"
7	Puliyan boat- racing song Performer: Puliya boys Date of Recording: 22nd March 1938 Place of recording: Kottayam, Kerala Language: Malayalam	02'45"
8	Villu Pattu – Birth of Shasta Performer: Not identified Date of Recording: 5th March 1938 Place of recording: Kozhicode, Tamil Nadu Language: Tamil	04'42"
9	Prayer to Yellama Performer: Two Pariah women Date of Recording: 17th October 1938 Place of Recording: Bijapur, Karnataka Language: Kannada	02'53"
10	Mohammadan coolie cries Performer: 5 Muhammedan Coolies Date of Recording: 19th March 1938 Place of recording: Alleppey, Kerala	07'49"
11	Roof beating song (chorus) Date of Recording: 2nd March 1938 Place of recording: Mangrol, Gujarat Language: Gujarati	01'29"
12	Transplanting song Date of Recording: 3rd May 1938 Place of recording: Sullia, Karnataka Language: Tulu	01'40"
13	O Bele Date of Recording: 6th May 1938 Place of recording: Mangalore Language: Tulu	03'54"
14	Puliyan transplanting song Performer: Group of Pulayan women Date of Recording: 22nd March 1938 Place of recording: Kottayam, Kerala Language: Malayalam	02'24"
15	Grinding song Performer: Two girls Date of Recording: 11th October 1938 Place of recording: Belgaum, Karnataka Language: Kannada	01'53"
16	Bimbisale – Harvest song Performer: A group of girls Date of Recording: 3rd May 1938 Place of recording: Sullia, Karnataka Language: Kannada	01'16"
17	Koti Chennaya paddana Performer: Two men Date of Recording: 6th May 1938 Place of recording: Mangalore, Karnataka Language: Tulu	02'31"
18	Washerwoman’s song Performer: J.S.Kavi Lalaji Date of Recording: 28th January 1939 Place of recording: Lathi, Gujarat Language: Hindi	02'31"